Before I entered the addicting world of social media, I never understood why people cared so damn much about their followers. It's just a number! Why were all of my friends going crazy and competing with each other over a stupid number? I thought it was shallow and petty.
Then I made a Pinterest. And a tumblr. And a Twitter (which I deleted very quickly and have recently remade). And I started writing stories and posting them online. On some networks, I never made it far. On others, I was completely blown away by how fast my follower count was increasing. But on all of the different social media mediums that I joined, I learned just how much a new follower means to me, especially if they're a stranger.
I was suddenly ensnared in a world of fierce competition. I found myself comparing how many followers I had to how many my friends had. First, I was upset at how much my opinions had changed. I tried to convince myself that networking itself was more valuable to me than the number of people who followed me.
It wasn't until recently that I realized that wanting followers is a natural part of being part of a social network. It means that someone out there likes what I post, what I like, what I want to say. I feel as if it's a connection with someone else, something that we're always looking for, no matter how small or insignificant.
Accepting this philosophy, I decided to revert my attention back to the actual act of networking. I rejoice when I get new followers, but it's not the main reason why I post or pin or write. Now I can completely understand the hype about followers; I just don't want that number to define my happiness.
Focusing on a follower count can definitely be soul-sucking, and takes away from the fun of social media. I'm not super active on social media myself, but I used to get ridiculously upset when I lost followers -- I took it personally when the people who had unfollowed me didn't even know me, which was completely illogical. I'm glad that you have decided to put the issue of follower count aside so that you can do what you like!
ReplyDeleteI totally feel ya! I used to be obsessed about how many friends I had on facebook, or how many people viewed my snapchat story, etc, but then I realized that in the grand scheme of things, it's not all that important. It's nice to know that people are paying attention to you and are at least pretending to care about your life, but like you, I have overcome the initial obsession and now it's just another part of my life that I sometimes choose to pay attention to.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset toward followers also changed when I started engaging more heavily in social media. Like you, I think part of my desire for an audience stems from the unshakable sense of anonymity I feel. I don't want to be famous or anything, but it's nice to know that I'm digitally interacting with other people on some level.
ReplyDeleteFollower counts are dangerous in that they dehumanize the people behind the numbers. I think it's great that you managed to work past the numbers obsession. Not everyone is able to do so in the end.
To be honest, I don't care about my follower count until I hit a milestone (like, 1.5k followers or something like that). When someone unfollows me, I'm just like, "yeah, cool, whatever," but I get really annoyed if I am stuck around a certain number. Like if you had 100 followers but lose 3 followers and gain 2, or gain 5 but then lose 3 ... you're just stuck at 101. And then you lose another follower to put you back on 100 --
ReplyDeleteThere's a part of me that's attached to my hard earned follower count, but there's also a part of me that says "whatever." But I'm never controlled by my follower count and I post what I like. Only in the case of deleting my Tumblr am I controlled by the amount of people who follow me.
I think some people depend too much on followers and thus lose themselves in the pursuit of followers. Followers are great (I don't really know. The concept seems innocent enough). They're like your friends who agree with you and like what you have to say. It's also nice to know that you're worth listening to. I think this concept goes beyond social media though. It applies to life too. You shouldn't get too caught up in the pursuit of "friends". Focus on you and you'll attract people you want to be with.:)
ReplyDeleteCan I just say I loved the way you brought the story around full circle, beginning with your skepticism, to your involvement with the hype, to the critical analysis, and finally a more balanced view of the world.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I am only on facebook as a social media outlet, but this blogging thing has got to me. Though I never get many, I always get excited when I see that my blog has had hits-- then again it's a bit disappointing when I get one comment for like 25 views of a post (not going to lie) but in any case. I love the way you've adapted your opinions. Thanks for sharing!
Joy, I totally see where you're coming from here. I recently created an Instagram (my only form of social media), and I didn't understand the hype at first. Then I realized that it would be pointless to have an account without followers, so I really wanted people to follow me. Now that the initial excitement has worn off, and I only check my account once a day, I realize that it's not as big of a deal. As long as we're connected to the people that we want to be connected to, social media is a great tool that's fun to use.
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